#Bangistan (Hindi) Rating: * * An attempted satire located in fantasyland, this one tries hard to make a pitch for Hindu –Muslim understanding. The theme may be noble but the narrative just doesn’t have the requisite ‘lightness of being’ to make it entertaining. To start-off, the idea wasn’t an unsound one but the writing definitely veers towards that. A few more rewrites could have fleshed out the sit-com like set-pieces much better and brought on a few laughs.. but alas! Helmer #KaranAnshuman was once a film critic , now he is just another struggling, wannabe ( aiming-to-make-it-rich-on-mediocrity) filmmaker . It’s just sad to see how the mighty have fallen. #KaranAnshuman #JungleePictures #AAFilmsNartionwide #FilmCommissionPoland #ExcelStudios #ExcelEntertainment #RiteishDeshmukh #PulkitSamrat #JacquelineFernandez #ChandanRoySanyal #RiteshSidhwani #FarhanAkhtar #SpicePR Runtime: 135 mins

#Jaanisaar (Hindi) Rating: * * ½ Three decades after his stunning and aesthetically affecting #UmraoJaan with the majestically evocative #Rekha giving us one of her most endearing and unforgettable performances, comes this near re-cant from the master filmmaker #MuzzaffarAli. The milieu, the culture, the aesthetics are top-class here but there’s no magic to be had. The revisit to the Awadhi-Lucknowi tehzeeb is pretty but reverentially hollow too. The story set around the first war of Independence (Mutiny)1857, lacks gravitas and the treatment pales in comparison to it’s more distinctive opulent cousin. Also the cast and performances lack in class and depth. I for one am grateful that filmmaker MuzaffarAli is back..just wish he had come back with a bang! #KotwaraStudios #MuzaffarAli #MeeraAli #PerniaQureshi #ImranAbbas #BinaKak #DalipThahil #CarlWharton #SMProductions #GianniGiannelli #SankalpMeshram #RakshaEntertainmentPvtLtd #AbidYunusKhan #CarlWharton #NatalieArikan #BenjaminCoakley #LuvBhargav #FriðrikGuðmundsson

#HrafnkellHringur #ArnoKrimmer #RaindropMedia

Runtime: 124 mins

#KaalaSachTheBlackTruth (Hindi) Rating: * ½ the film attempts to highlight the cruelty and inhumane treatment of women in the name of Witch Hunting. Crude and revolting, the exhuming of a social evil is treated in a cobbled together fashion. Performances are loud and veering towards the over-the-top while the music and dialogues prefer to hyper-ventilate rather than speak from the heart. While the social evil at the centre of this themed enterprise is no doubt deplorable, the ensuing on screen saga doesn’t allow for any empathy or understanding. This burning issue that has breeding grounds in as many as 12 states (as per NCRB) definitely deserved a better film. This one is not it!